1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a print apparatus for irradiating a recording medium after printing with light.
2. Related Art
Techniques for recording an image onto a recording medium such as paper or a resin sheet include one where a photo-curable ink is first adhered to the recording medium and then the recording medium is irradiated with light to cure the ink. Here, a case where a light source is arranged so as to be close to and face the recording medium requires heat radiation from the light source in order to prevent the print process from being impacted by the heat that is emitted from the light source. For example, Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2005-096374 describes a technique that achieves cooling of a recording medium being passed through by providing heat dissipation fins to a reverse surface of a platen that is arranged at a position facing a light irradiation device and supports the recording medium.
Though not considered in the prior art described above, a light source not only heats the recording medium but also has the effect of raising the temperature of the platen. In particular, in a print apparatus that addresses recording media of various different sizes, the range of irradiation of light is set according to the largest size of recording medium, and therefore a greater amount of heat is directly radiated toward the platen that is exposed from the recording medium when a smaller-sized recording medium is being used, making it impossible to disregard the rise in temperature of the platen. Namely, the effect of cooling for the recording medium is not obtained when the temperature of the platen is not sufficiently lower than that of the recording medium, and when the temperature rises to above that of the recording medium then the platen instead will have the effect of heating the recording medium. To solve this problem, it is necessary for the heat dissipation capacity of the platen to be made fairly high.